Friday, April 30, 2010

These are some more of the birds I saw while in Costa Rica and some of my new life birds. Most were seen while doing the wildlife cruises in Tortuguero and at Cano Negro near the Nicaragua border. It was great that our boat rides included a local nature guide. They were always able to spot these birds.

A cool bird seen was this one called the Great Potoo related to the nightjars. I just wished it would have turned it head. This bird is can easily camouflage itself. To me it looks like part of the tree.

The Bare throated Tiger Heron was another life bird. We saw this bird a few times in different places but this one looks like it is on a nest above the river.

Immature Little Blue heron

I believe this is also a Little Blue heron

The Anhinga is another life bird for me.

This is my Friday Ark entry. And to see more great entries click here Friday Ark

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Blackwater refuge is one of my favorite place to go birding. This time of year the shorebirds are back, Ospreys and Eagles are all on their nest. Turtles are sunning themselves on the shore, rocks and fallen trees. It is just a wonderful time of year to see nature and some great birds.

Osprey working on their nest, please click on photos images look better enlarged

A far away view of the Eagle parents. I had heard from volunteers at the visitor center that there were two eaglets in the nest.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Wow, I just noticed that this is my 100th post. I was thinking my blog visitors might be tired of seeing my Costa Rica vacation photos so I am posting a mosaic my more recent birding walk. On Saturday, hubby and I took a quick walk to a local park where the birding is usually good. This time of year I can usually find some warblers moving thru. No luck though with the warbler sightings. We did see a few Red Eyed Vireos and a lot of Blue Gray Gnatcatchers. A large flock of Bluejays flew over and different species of woodpeckers were heard during our walk. The best sighting was of a Barred Owl. Two weeks ago we saw a pair of owls in the same spot, I believe they are nesting nearby. This is a pretty park with a stream and lots of pretty yellow wildflowers growing along the trail.

This is my entry and to see more visit Mary at Mosaic Monday Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Barred owl

This is one of the two owls we saw two weeks ago.

Closeup of some of the wildflowers along the trail. To see more yellow click here Mellow Yellow Monday and a thanks to Drowsey Monkey for hosting Mellow Yellow Monday.

After this past winter I love to see all the green and the reflections of the trees.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Costa Rica is a wonderful place for birders. I was able to see many lifers(first time seeing a bird) during my vacation without even trying. Some of the cool birds we saw along the river to Tortuguero were the Kingfishers. We saw three different species of Kingfishers. They were the Amazon Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher and the smallest kingfisher the Green Kingfisher. The Green Kingfisher was quick to move and I was not able to snap a photo. We did get to see a few sightings of the Green Kingfisher perched low over the river.

The Ringed Kingfisher is the largest, I read that this is one bird where the female is more colorful than the male. It most distinguishing characteristic is the rufous belly, it covers the entire breast of the male.

The Amazon Kingfisher below was pretty common along the river, this guy below had food and was beating his catch against the tree. We were able to watch the kingfisher from our boat. They nest in horizontal tunnels made in a river bank.

Amazon Kingfisher

This is my Friday Ark entry and to see more click on my link. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Also my post is for Camera Critter this week, thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

During the 1 1/2 hour boat ride to our Tortuguero lodge in Costa Rica, we were able to stop and see some of the wildlife along the river. All along the river we could see Little Blue Herons, three species of Kingfishers, Anhinga, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, White Ibis and lots of monkeys. Part of the river is in the Tortuguero and only so many boats are allowed in the park at one time.

The Northern Jacana and this huge Crocodile was a neat sighting. The Northern Jacana was a life bird for me and a first time for seeing a Croc in the wild.

The Northern Jacana is found on freshwater bodies with floating vegetation. Jacana's are called lilytrotters for their ability to walk on this vegetation. With this huge croc laying there I hope the Jacana moves quickly.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

While vacationing in Costa Rica I was able to see three different kinds of Toucans. I thought it would be fun to make a mosaic with their photos. They are the Collared Aracari, Keel billed Toucan and the Chestnut Mandibled Toucan. Seeing the toucans was a real treat for me and I think they are really cool cartoonish looking birds. Below I have separate post on the Keel billed Toucan and the Collard Aracari but this is my first time for adding the Chestnut mandibled Toucan to a post. The red and yellow colors on the toucans are so bright and pretty.

Chestnut mandibled Toucan

Keel Billed Toucan

Collard Aracari

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Montezuma Oropendola is a very strange name for a cool looking bird I saw in Costa Rica. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean lowland from Mexico to Panama. The males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and a bright yellow tail. The male song is heard during a bowing display and consist of bubbling followed by loud gurgles. Sounds weird right? I found these sounds to be funny and we heard them often at the Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero.

The Montezuma Oropendola's nest. I didn't count the nest but there were a lot of them hanging from the palm trees.

The Montezuma Oropendola is consider a common bird in parts of its range. It is seen in small or larger flocks foraging in the trees for insects, fruits including bananas. There are a lot of banana trees in Costa Rica.

The Montezuma Oropendola is a colonial breeder and builds it hanging woven nest of fibers and vines and hangs high in a tree.

For two days we were able to watch these birds flying around with there bright yellow tails making their crazy sounds and then land on the trees that held their nest.

Each colony has a dominant male which mates with most of the females following a elaborate bowing display. The female will lay two eggs which hatches in 15 days and they will fledge in 30 days. There are typically about 30 nest in colony.

I loved all the birds I saw in Costa Rica but I found the Montezuma Oropendola to be one of the more interesting birds.

You can also visit Michelle's Nature Notes and thanks to Michelle for hosting this great meme.

To see more critters you can visit Misty Dawn's Camera Critters Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting.

Friday, April 9, 2010

My entry for Bird Photography Weekly #85 Please click on my link ot see more.
I was lucky to see three different toucans while in Costa Rica. This Keel Billed Toucan showed up in a tree while I was looking at a red Summer Tanager. The Keel Billed Toucan ranges in length from 17-22 inches. Their colorful bill averages 5-6 inches of its length. Wikipedia states that the bill is large and cumbersome but is actually spongy hollow bone covered in a keratin a very light and hard protein. They mainly eat fruit, but will also take insects, small eggs and reptiles. I think they are cool cartoonish looking birds.

One the photo below You can compare the Collared Aracari to the Keel Billed Toucan

The main difference between the aracaris and the toucans are the tails. The Collared Aracaris have a sharp and pointed tail. The beaks are about 4 inches long.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and to check out more bird and critters visit the Friday Ark

also

this also my entry for Camera Critters visit Misty dawn's Camera Critters for some cute critters.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Crimson-fronted Parakeet was one of the common birds I saw while in Costa Rica. It is not a common bird for me I thought they were pretty cool. It was neat to see groups of them fly in and make all kind of noises. Their plumage is primarily green but with a red forehead. Their food is fruit, nuts and seeds.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Collared Aracari a Toucan is one of my favorite birds seen in Costa Rica. These birds were seen during our stay two weeks ago in Tortuguero. One morning we watched a couple leaving a nest in a telephone pole on the grounds of our resort. It seemed to me that the nest was made and being used by a couple of Woodpeckers. The Collared Aracari were raiding the woodpeckers nest. We watched the Collared Aracari squeezing in and out of the hole in the telephone pole.

According to wikipedia.org the Collared Aracari eats fruit but will also take insects, lizards, bird eggs and other small prey.

The Collared Aracari are cool looking birds and just one of many exotic looking birds I had the pleasure of seeing in Costa Rica

Friday, April 2, 2010

I just got back from a ten day vacation in Costa Rica. The birds there are are just beautiful and some are so colorful. I'm sure my next few posts will be about the birds I saw in Costa Rica. I will start with the first birds I saw at our San Jose hotel. They were the Clay colored robin which is the national bird of Costa Rica. Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Palm Tanager, White winged dove, unknown hummingbird, Great tailed grackle, Blue-Gray Tanagers and the Rufous collared sparrow. These are all lifers for me and I need to make a list of my Costa Rica lifers.

Palm Tanagers

Rufous collared Sparrow

Clay colored robin

Red lored parrot

Blue-gray Tanager

Thanks for stopping by to see my birds, to see more birds and critters visit the Friday Ark

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About me

I am married and have one son in his 20's. I live in Maryland, USA. Retired since Dec 2014 My hobbies are traveling, hiking, birding, taking photos and anything nature related.
Contact:eileen.inmd@gmail.com

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